Strawberry Fangs
by Nissa Fox
Summary: (Remastered version) Vampire AU: Ichigo never thought that finding out his roommate's secret would change the course of his entire life. The more he looks into the new world that opened up in front of him more secrets reveal themselves. Grimmichi, mostly plot, lemons in later chapters. Rated M for swearing, violence, and sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

My terrible sleep schedule decided that I have to revisit my first work. Let's see how long I can last without going insane.

If your new to this story, hey. Don't read the original because despite me probably changing the story at some point a lot of it is going to be the same. People who have read the original and actually bother to read v2 be respectful by not spoiling stuff.

Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach then I wouldn't have lost the bet that caused me to write this story in the first place. Yeah. Me losing a bet is the story behind me becoming a fanfiction writer. Funny huh?

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Chapter 1

It's been eight months since Renji convinced Ichigo to go on this obnoxious abroad program in America and it has been a long five months since it started. Five months since he left his family to spend a semester at a highly ranked school speaking practically nothing, but his second language. He didn't have enough money to travel which was a wash, but he didn't really have much of a desire to do it in the first place.

What he really came here for besides Renji dragging him were the credits that were being offered. The classes he took kept him busy even when he was out of class and he always found himself losing track of time which meant Renji to the rescue.

 _Get out of bed and meet us for dinner._

The smart phone next to Ichigo dinged displaying the message. Ichigo looked at the time displayed on the screen and groaned. He was working for four hours straight and hasn't even noticed it. He turned his head to his roommate who seemed to have not moved within the entire time Ichigo was working. He didn't know what he was doing on his laptop, but it didn't seem like work.

Yes, he had a roommate. He tried to get Renji as a roommate, but apparently there was some rule about not having people from the same college room together so that new people can meet. Yada, yada, rules and terms that Ichigo didn't bother to read.

 _Okay, I'll be there in a bit._ Ichigo typed back, the phone responding with a whoosh as the message was sent.

He placed the book that was resting on his lap on the table next to him, swinging his feet to the floor and accidentally knocking one of the notebooks he had on his bed on top of his shoes. His roommate raised an eye at him as if noticing that he was there for the first time. "Are you leaving?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go get dinner." Ichigo responded picking up the notebook that fell and placing it on top of the textbook.

"Can I borrow the room for a little bit? I'll text you when I'm done." His roommate asked, grabbing his phone next to him, probably already making plans before Ichigo even gave an answer.

"Sure, see you later Grimmjow." Ichigo said grabbing his phone, wallet, and keys before exiting.

It wasn't an odd request. All roommates ask for that kind of stuff when they need the room to themselves. It can be for when a roommate has friends over, or other friends that come over for other reasons then to play _Super Smash Bros._ Ichigo never bothered to ask since Grimmjow never seemed like the type to have shame…not that anyone should be ashamed of sex.

Often times Ichigo would text him while he was entering the dorm and he would see a girl he has never seen before walking down the stairs as he made his way back to his room. Then when he saw Grimmjow he would have this smug expression, more smug then his usual one, and look like he was at peace.

He knew better then to reject Grimmjow's time alone in the room. He tried before, but he made a joke about how he just wanted to watch and Ichigo knew that he probably wouldn't have minded if he actually did while they did…well, that.

Ichigo left the room and headed out to one of the dining halls on campus, for such a big campus there were only four places to eat. None of the dining options were very great such is living on a college campus. He and his friends did make a habit of visiting one of the more palatable places. He grabbed his burger and made his way to their usual table. It was routine. Same place, same table, same time, same friends. It was great. Comforting.

"Way to be late." Renji joked patting Ichigo's reserved seat right next to him.

Everyone at the table said their greetings as Ichigo settled down with his estimated 583 cheeseburger since entering the campus. Okay, it was an exaggeration, but it was one of the consistent things he could stomach.

"Did you lock yourself in your room again?" Izuru asked. His French accent slightly less obvious then when they first met. Rooming with Shuuhei who is from America must have made his accent fade quicker. The two of them must have been soul mates, best friends meant for each other. They never leave each other's side. If Ichigo didn't know they were straight he would have assumed that they were dating.

"Yup," Ichigo said plainly, biting into his burger. He didn't realize how hungry he was until he sat down.

"You should probably stop doing that." Orihime said, sounding actually genuinely concerned. "Renji has been reminding you to come get dinner for an entire week now."

Ichigo thought back to the large amount of work that has accumulated on his desk back in his room before shoving the thought away.

Everyone at the table except for Ichigo seemed to realize that she had a crush on him. It only made things awkward because the boy sitting right next to her, Uryu had a crush on her. They all knew it even though he was pretty good at hiding it.

"I don't blame him. Biology II can be a pain." Uryu said taking his glasses off, wiping the lenses with a cloth. He was the only one at the table that understood Ichigo's pain. The both of them were aiming to enter med school, the same med school back in Japan. If they take a lot of credits during this program it can help them get a scholarship. Uryu was ahead of him on credits though since he needed to be Mr. Perfect especially in front of Orihime. "I've been there. I would forget to eat too, not realizing the time until all the dining options on campus closed."

"That's why I made a point to get you from your room every day to eat." Orihime said with a big smile. Everyone momentarily had a sympathetic look towards Uryu before quickly hiding it. Everyone at the table was aware of Uryu's crush except for the bubbly, ditsy girl herself. The poor boy lived in the friend zone.

"Can you go back to your story about how you and Uryu met?" Shuuhei said restarting the conversation that started before Ichigo arrived.

"We were pen pals." She complied. The conversations differed every day. It was something to look forward to. Ichigo was someone who mostly kept to himself so Renji took it upon himself to get Ichigo some friends. "Back when I was in elementary school we were assigned a pen pal from a different school that was in a different part of Japan."

Everyone nodded beckoning her to tell more of the story with the exception of Uryu who was looking to his side shyly, or at least shy in Uryu terms; seemingly distracted by another table that was having their own conversation. Ichigo never got used to seeing this side of Uryu since he always acted so stern and cool in complete contrast to the bustling girl that was chattering away.

"Well Uryu was assigned to me and we really hit it off. We eventually exchanged emails so that we could continue messaging each other. Then he told me that he was attending this program and it turned out that I was taking the same one out of sheer coincidence!" She clapped her hands together in delight drawing unnecessary attention to her which only caused Uryu to sink into his chair, slowly losing composure.

"I emailed him the night I arrived and you wouldn't believe how surprised I was." She said leaning forward not doing anything to cover her breasts that were leaving less effort for the imagination. The entire table looked over to Uryu who was avoiding the conversation. It made it hard to not pay attention to Orihime's exposing V-neck. She wasn't that helpful to have around for his reputation of always being the calm and collected one. Orihime had the ability to knock off the balance of his level headedness, or at least make it more difficult to keep himself together.

"This was actually the first time we met in person. Five months ago, I mean. I remember when he told me which dorm he was in and how I hunted down his room to knock on his door. Now look at us, best of friends."

Immediately sympathy swarmed Ichigo's mind again as the word 'friend' sank in. He didn't like to call Uryu a friend since he acted like he had a stick shoved so far up his butt that he could taste it. He was actually here because Renji made friends with Orihime and she dragged him everywhere so that he could socialize and have a normal college life. Welp, that was one thing Ichigo and Uryu had in common. Still, no one deserved that. The friendzone was a dark and deep hole that was hard to climb out of. Seriously, that story belonged in a romance novel, or a shoujo manga, or something. Add a bit more story in it, some more pretty words and it would sell more than Nicholas Sparks. There was even significantly less cancer or any other terminal illness that was shamelessly meant to tug at the readers' heart strings.

In an effort to change the subject Izuru asked Renji how he and Ichigo met. Clearly it wasn't nearly as cute of a story. They were childhood friends. They met in kindergarten, they shared crayons, they walked home together, friendship established. It wasn't nearly as interesting a story as how Rukia joined their group, but she wasn't there and no one knew her besides the two of them so that story remained unsaid.

Ichigo has seen plenty of Renji his entire life yet he was still able to convince him to come along rather than pushing for Rukia to come along. All Renji needed to do to pull Ichigo along was complain that despite going to the same elementary, middle, high school, and eventually college that he doesn't see him enough.

Maybe it was because they picked different majors, Ichigo pursuing medical, while Renji was trying his hand in business, which didn't seem to fit him in Ichigo's opinion, not with Renji's tattoos, weird fashion sense, and of course, his amazing musical talent.

Seriously, despite music being a dangerous profession, music ran through Renji's blood. Any musical instrument Renji picked up he would manage to master even if they were all different from one another. He could never separate himself from it. It was seriously a shame that he wasn't pursuing his dreams. The guy even keeps a pair of drum sticks that was a gift from Rukia in his bag as a good luck charm.

He would drum off walls or tables in impatience if they were planning to meet up and Ichigo was late to arrive at the meeting spot. It managed to get him a lot of noise complaints, but he never seemed to have a problem whipping his guitar out to practice outside. He would even attract a crowd sometimes. He never showed off his skill nor the fact that he had the voice of an angel to anyone on campus.

Izuru fell back into his seat. "At least the two of you can take a bullet train or whatever travel methods Japan uses to get around. Shuuhei is on the other side of the globe for me." Ichigo thought it before, but the two of them would be amazing main characters of a cringey, cliché, fanfiction. Two roommates from different countries paired together by fate or some shit, falling in love, and finding a way to be together despite their obstacles. The only thing that was missing to make it even cringeier is some supernatural element.

"I'm glad Ichigo and I are only walking distances away from each other." Renji said. "Now we can take our unproclaimed love home with us." He said jokingly pecking Ichigo on the cheek.

Ichigo glared at Renji, unamused while everyone at the table laughed. Even Uryu cracked the rare smile. "You're the worst." Ichigo said plainly.

"Should I save it for the bedroom?" Renji asked pushing further.

"Please stop."

"You know I can't stay away from you, Daddy." Renji cooed.

"I'm drawing the line at 'Daddy'" Ichigo said, speaking up so that Renji can hear him over the roar of laughter that only got louder.

"Should we make a safe word?"

"This conversation is over." Ichigo stated.

Ichigo looked at his phone. All of them have long since finished eating. The dining hall was actually closing soon so they had to leave before the staff kicked them out again. Where was Grimmjow's text? As soon as the thought popped into his head the text came.

 _Done_

Thank whoever is up there if there is someone. His mind kept on going back to the Bio II test he was preparing for before dinner. He kept trying to push the thoughts out of his head, but thoughts kept coming back like the same three songs that played on the radio constantly. Seriously, fuck Bio II. Not even in med school and he already wanted to die. Did he have any energy drinks left? Because it was time for an old-fashioned all-nighter.

He waved his goodbyes to his friends as they all walked in separate directions, all of them being from different dorms for the most part. Ichigo and Renji walked together for a while before Renji split off to go to his own dorm that was close to his.

Walk down the path that wasn't paved well, unlock door, walk up three flights because fuck the elevator, walk to room at the far end of the hallway. Routine. Simple. Seriously lovely.

The minute Ichigo swung open the door he was consumed by hot, humid air that sank heavily in the small space. It felt like there was no air getting in or out of the room as if the windows were closed on a particularly hot summer day. It felt like they just finished and she ran out the door. Shit, he really did last a long time didn't he? Ichigo thought to himself trying to adjust to the uncomfortable atmosphere. He expected the room to smell like sweat, but instead it smelled like iron. It took Grimmjow two hours to get things done, but the room still smelled unnatural.

It could be one of two things. She was on her period or there was a homicide. God he hoped it was the first one. Ichigo snuck a glance and realized that the sheets on Grimmjow's bed have been replaced. One point for period.

Rather than his old sheets being tossed into a laundry basket like they should be they were actually hiding in a box off to the side, semi hidden where Ichigo probably wasn't supposed to see it. The sheets that he could see were stained brown like it was oxidizing blood that was still red. One point for homicide.

God he never prayed that it was a random girl's time of the month so hard or that Grimmjow was a bit too aggressive and accidentally broke her hymen. Yeah…denial wasn't working.

Ichigo willed himself to look at Grimmjow who was sitting cross legged on his bed with a tense expression and bulging eyes. His face was sweaty and his baby blue hair was all over the place, even more than usual. He even looked like he was shaking like he was sick or cold. The teal tattoos under his eyes were covering the dark circles that he never noticed before. Despite looking like he came out of the shower his sweaty face, damp hair, scent, and posture told a different story. Okay, that's another point for homicide. Maybe he should consider calling Renji to see if he could sleep over his room, or Izuru and Shuuhei's, or Uryu's …or even Orihime's

Wait, was his roommate undergoing withdrawal or something? He never experienced what it looked like firsthand so he didn't make any claims, even if he did have the textbook image of what withdrawal looked like. Did Grimmjow do drugs? He doesn't seem like the type, but then again he barely knew anything about him nor did he even have a clue on how to approach this situation. Holy crap! What if he took drugs and they drove him to murder?

Ichigo's mind was running. He didn't know what to deal with first, question his roommate's state or ask about the damn bloody sheets and the possibility that something very illegal took place in the room where he was supposed to sleep and study for the night.

As soon as Ichigo moved towards his bed he realized how Grimmjow's eyes followed him as if he couldn't rip them off of him. Grimmjow's blue eyes never seemed as dark as they were when Ichigo walked past him. They even looked like they dilated when he walked a little bit closer to him. It was like how he imagined a panther to act it couldn't find anything to eat in days, but then found a white-tailed deer taking a calm drink by the river completely unaware that he was about to be dinner.

He tried to ignore him, and relax in his bed, but it didn't work with Grimmjow's eyes not moving its focus on him. He tried to convince himself that he was just staring off into space in his general direction, but he knew better. No one looked off into space with that much focus. He really didn't want to make assumptions or get involved in his roommate's business in the least, but this was college after all.

He couldn't stand being stared at though and allowing his mind to continue running. "Grimmjow, are you okay?" He found himself asking, slowly and carefully making sure to keep judgment out of his voice. The more his mind wandered the more he found himself genuinely becoming concerned for his roommate. "You know you have class tomorrow, right? Are you going to be okay? Do you need to talk? Or do you need me to get you any help?" He didn't know what to do or what to ask. All he knew was that he wished that he could have a normal, night where his only stress was preparing for the inevitable, impossible test he will receive first thing in the morning.

"Huh? Yeah, it's just that…never mind" Grimmjow said seeming to cut himself off from his own thoughts. He acted like he was in a daze, but Ichigo knew better and he couldn't help getting more distracted and more curious. He seriously was a bit out of it, but Ichigo was sure that his roommate's focus on him didn't waver. It was almost like he was grasping for reality…or sizing him up. Whatever it was, he couldn't help but feel intimidated by the larger and more muscular roommate whose eyes kept following him.

Ichigo wasn't a stranger to fights and he wasn't sure if Grimmjow was familiar with them, but based on size and muscle difference Ichigo knew that he didn't have the best chance against him nor was he sure if Grimmjow was in the right frame of mind for reason. He needed to get out, but make it look natural just to give Grimmjow some time to clear his mind.

"Right… I'm gonna take a shower and you think about what you were planning to tell me."

Ichigo bounced off the bed and walked a little too forcefully past him to grab his shower stuff so that he could use the communal shower that was shared by the entire floor. He threw his towel over his shoulder and grabbed the door handle. Immediately he pulled his hand away, repulsed. It was sticky, not sticky from sweat or anything natural like that, but it was really gross and sticky. Ichigo hesitantly lifted his hand and turned it over to see that it was stained red.

He didn't know whether that was a point for period or homicide, it was definitely leaning a bit more to homicide though. Wouldn't the girl have enough courtesy to wipe her hands off before handling the door? She already ruined the sheets so wiping more blood on them wouldn't have done much.

All he knew was that it was definitely blood on his hand. Blood that wasn't his own. Blood in a setting where there should be significantly less blood. Staring at the brownish red substance made his tan skin turn ghostly white.

Ichigo turned to his roommate, looking for some kind of explanation that could put his mind at ease for the first time since stepping into the room. Before he was even able to articulate a question his roommate was towering over him and holding Ichigo's wrist in a strong grasp. He led Ichigo's hand in front of his face so that he could examine it. He didn't even hear him get up off his bed and it was a really bad time to realize that this was the most his roommate has ever made physical contact with him.

"Shit." He huffed out slowly. "I thought I did a better job on cleaning."

Yup that was another point for homicide. Definitely another point for homicide. How many points did homicide have now? Too many. Time to get the fuck out.

"Right. Um you know what? I'll skip the shower." Ichigo said trying his best not to stutter. "In fact you seem like you need some extra time alone. I can sleep over at a friend's tonight."

Every instinct in his body told him to get out. That he was unsafe. That Grimmjow shouldn't be able to move so fast. That his eyes were way wilder then his usual smug expression that he always wore.

Before Ichigo even thought to pull his hand away Grimmjow guided his hand to his mouth and licked a long strip across his palm wetting the dry blood. Ichigo's body froze from the warm wet contact that was the last thing he expected. What the fuck?

Actually he didn't mind saying that out loud. "What the fuck?"

Ichigo finally made an effort to pull his wrist away. Instead Grimmjow's grip became tighter, making him feel like he was losing circulation in his hand. Rather than pulling himself free he was shoved almost aggressively against the wall with his arm above his head, causing him to briefly see stars. Grimmjow's other hand held him in place by his hip his mouth inches away from his roommate's neck.

Grimmjow hovered over Ichigo's neck almost trancelike with his slightly parted lips nearly ghosting over his soft, sensitive skin. Ichigo's breath was quick as his overwhelming instinct to panic took over. He felt his heart pounding through his shirt and his eyes frantically darted everywhere in the room to look for some way to escape.

"Grimmjow?" Ichigo called out lightly to try to shake his roommate out of his trance and hopefully get an explanation for what the hell was going on. It's been a long time since he was genuinely scared and it wasn't exactly a welcome emotion. This was seriously too out of character for him.

"Sorry, I'm still hungry." Grimmjow grunted before his lips opened wider and allowed his teeth to sink into Ichigo's exposed neck, breaking skin and making blood trickle down his neck as well as run down his own chin.

Ichigo gasped at the sudden pain, his caddy that he was bringing to the shower slipped from his hand that opened from shock, causing it to clatter against the floor with his shampoo and body wash rolling across the floor to the other side of the room near the box of bloody sheets.

He wanted to yell out, but his voice couldn't make it out of his mouth as if Grimmjow's teeth formed a wall that wouldn't allow his screams to escape. He wanted to get away, but he sensed that if he tried to pull away he'll risk getting his jugular torn out. All he could do was clench his teeth as he felt his body grow cold and start to lose feelings in his hands and feet while Grimmjow drank desperately before Ichigo was drastically pulled away.

Ichigo nearly hung limply from the arm that Grimmjow was holding above his head. Grimmjow swapped from holding him by his wrist to holding him up from his shoulder to prevent him from kneeling over and collapsing. Ichigo's head rolled forward, dropping down heavily to face the floor. His tan skin was a few shades paler, his eyes were half lidded, and he was breathing deeply taking in large amounts of air and exhaling heated breaths.

"Holy shit, Ichi," He rasped as blood tricked from the side of his mouth. "I took too much, fuck me." He cursed.

He picked up the smaller figure bridal style and carried him over to his bed. Ichigo was fighting with a burning fever that surfaced way too quickly in an effort to hold his consciousness. He looked at his roommate with eyes that he could barely open. He was shocked and his eyes would have been way wider if he wasn't so tired so he decided to make do with what he had as long as he didn't pass out.

"What the hell?" He asked shakily. "Are you some kind of vampire?" He said it sort of as a joke, but as soon as he said it he knew that he was more serious than he thought he was.

"Yeah, I can explain that later, but for now I need you to stay awake." Grimmjow quickly rushed over to his roommate's mini-fridge and grabbed a bottle of water and Ichigo's washcloth from the tipped over caddy on the floor.

He unscrewed the cap off the bottle urgently and poured the contents on the washcloth. He dabbed his roommate's neck and forehead, alternating between the two, and Ichigo barely even processed the cold water making contact with his burning skin.

Grimmjow rinsed off the remaining blood that didn't even belong to him off of his hand before making his arm rest at his side. He got up to fish around his closet for a small bottle of hydrogen peroxide and dumped some of the contents on the dry section of the washcloth that was untouched by water.

He dabbed Ichigo's neck with the chemical that caused him to pull away from the stinging liquid instinctively. He settled back down when stars began to dance in his vision again, allowing Grimmjow an opportunity to continue cleaning the open cuts on his neck.

Grimmjow grabbed two Band-Aids from his drawer and tore them open, delicately applying them over the holes that he left on Ichigo's neck with his sharp canines that grew out like cat claws the moment his hunger took over.

"Before I forget, I guess I should say that I'm sorry. The bitch didn't supply what I paid for. Once she got scared she cut me off. I barely even took a cup." Grimmjow said in an effort to justify his actions.

"Are you talking about the girl you were sleeping with? Was she supposed to be the one feeding you?" Ichigo asked. What the fuck was he asking? Did he seriously accept that his roommate was a vampire so easily? He was too tired to be logical and the blood loss was really getting to him. He has already accepted the very likely possibility of him passing out. Fuck. He could die, but he was too tired to panic.

Grimmjow pulled the chair in front of his desk closer to his roommate's bed so he could watch over his nearly unconscious roommate. "We weren't sleeping together she was a blood supplier or a blood whore, whatever the fuck you wanna call her."

There was a pause.

"Okay. I've slept with some of them, but only if they are hot and come onto me."

There was another pause.

"I also use protection."

"Glad you cleared that up, asshole." Ichigo said sarcastically. "Just a very important detail for me to know. I'm so glad you're safe."

Grimmjow smiled. "The fact that you are being a smartass is a good sign."

He held the water bottle to Ichigo, nonverbally telling him to drink. Ichigo weakly took the bottle from his hands and tried to drink without spilling water all over himself and his sheets. Grimmjow motioned to help him, but Ichigo gestured for him to stop and that he didn't need his assistance. Heck Ichigo honestly wanted him to back up to give him more space. The dude nearly killed him.

"She was probably new to the job because she didn't feed me enough." Grimmjow grumbled leaning forward further so he could continue dabbing Ichigo's forehead to try to bring down Ichigo's fever at least slightly.

"I'm sorry, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around this." Ichigo stuttered. His mind was still so foggy. He was only conscious enough to understand slightly what was going on. He was going to say more, but before he could he cringed and started to shake like a leaf.

Grimmjow immediately shot up from his seat when Ichigo held his hand up in front of him and started to cough up blood. Grimmjow reached around him and quickly turned him on his side so he wouldn't end up choking on it.

"Hey, stay with me, Ichi. Don't pass out. Keep talking through it." Since when has his roommate taken to calling him Ichi? Why did he find it oddly comforting?

"Is it okay if I vomit?" Ichigo asked once his shaking calmed down a bit.

"You better not fucking puke." Grimmjow growled. "It's enough to take care of you. I don't want to clean up after you too. Blood is easier to take care of then puke and significantly less gross."

"And whose fault is this?" Ichigo asked despite feeling out of it. It wasn't enough to keep him from being a smart mouth. He wasn't sure if him being an ass meant he was doing better. It might have been that he was being a dick because the nature of the situation.

Grimmjow growled. It was clear that he was the kind of person that didn't like to be reminded of his mistakes or have it pointed out to him that he is in the wrong.

"Stop being a hard ass, it's not like you are going to remember any of this anyway." Grimmjow grumbled as a response.

"What? You've gotta be kidding me." Ichigo's color was coming back and his breath was evening out. It didn't make sense that his recovery was faster than possible, but at the moment he didn't even notice.

"I'm glad that you recovered so fast because goddamn I just want to get this over with." Grimmjow complained. "Sorry Ichi, maybe we can talk about this another time, but I'm not exactly ready yet."

Ichigo sat up, resting on his forearm as he lifted himself slightly off the bed. "Hell no, we are talking about this right now." Ichigo complained ready to get into a verbal argument with his roommate who was supposedly a freaking mythical monster that should not exist in the real world.

"Nope, you're stabilized. Good night." Grimmjow said sweetly before touching Ichigo's forehead and muttering a single word in German that Ichigo did not understand. "Schalf."

Ichigo's head fell back against his pillow with his eyelids closed heavily and his lips slightly parted to let out even, relaxed breaths as his mind went completely blank.

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 **A/N: Hi. I'm a millennial (not actually a millennial) that runs to platforms like this to seek strangers approval. Please give me some love so I can get through my day feeling less empty. Review, favorite, follow.**


	2. Chapter 2

For those of you who are returning after reading the original Strawberry Fangs. Welcome back. The beginning may be similar, better written, but similar. The story will change in later chapters. New readers welcome.

I'm not rewriting this story in the hopes that I get more views. I seriously just want to give this story justice and I knew I could do better.

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Chapter 2

Every part of Ichigo felt disgusting. It wasn't just because his bed sheets that were damp with sweat and clung to him. Nor was it that he recognized that he was sleeping in the clothes that he was wearing the day before. It was mostly his roaring headache and the fogginess of his head that made it hard for him to leave his bed. Too bad his screaming alarm that only made his headache worse insisted that he woke up.

He reached over to his phone to turn it off, but just the simple movement made every bone in his body ache. He peeked at the phone. It was only on 30% and the fact that he was able to pick it up so easily without pulling out his phone cord could only mean one thing. He somehow forgot to plug it in last night. He groaned. How come he couldn't remember not plugging it in?

Then again, he couldn't seem to remember anything from last night, or at least there was a large chunk missing. He tried to think back to simple stuff, did he shower last night, brush his teeth? Did he fall asleep while doing his homework or something? If he did then he probably didn't finish. It would explain why he was still wearing his clothes from yesterday.

He could think of all that stuff in passing. He needed to accomplish the second challenge of the day, actually getting up. Slowly as to not upset his headache, Ichigo pulled the covers off of him and immediately he was met with the cold morning air. His shirt drenched in sweat made him feel shiver causing him to instinctively peel it off of him as quickly as his feet hit the cold tile floor.

He grimaced at the second realization how disgusting he felt. It left him questioning once again why he decided to take morning classes. He closed his eyes and remembered the beauty of being asleep. It wouldn't be so bad if he skipped class, just slide out of his clothes from yesterday and crawl back under his covers…yes it would be bad.

He held onto his forehead, grimacing from a sudden jolt from his headache. He tried once again to remember what day it was or at least what happened last night to make him feel so shitty. The last thing he could remember was having dinner with his friends…and something else. It wasn't alcohol, but there was definitely something else that gave him a rough time.

He took a peak at his roommate who was awake and on his laptop already. It was weird seeing him awake before he was even fully awake himself. Something else that felt different about him and it wasn't because he seemed to have been awake for a long time.

Grimmjow looked over at Ichigo from his laptop and smiled lightly. Weird. "Morning." He greeted, friendly, which once again, is weird.

"Fuck you." The words fell out of Ichigo's mouth before he even fully realized why he was saying it.

Grimmjow's eyebrows furrowed. "Excuse me." He said in a harsh voice, before quickly allowing his face to soften. He reached for his headphones as if he wanted to go back to what he was doing. As if he did nothing wrong.

Ichigo frowned. "Don't play dumb." He said, placing his hand on the side of his neck. He then let go, raising an eyebrow and started to run his finger up and down his neck, searching for evidence. "Where the fuck did they go?"

"I seriously have no idea what you are talking about." Grimmjow said putting one of his ear buds in, keeping his other ear unplugged, still listening to Ichigo's unusual behavior.

Ichigo groaned. "Stop giving me shit. You're making me feel like I am going crazy. There is no way that was a dream." There was complete confidence in his voice. As much as his logic wanted to fight against him he knew what happened last night. The more he thought about it the more memories popped up.

Time for an investigation, he started by walking to his personal mini fridge. He swung the door open observing that his last water bottle was missing. Next to the fridge was his caddy that he takes to the shower. It was in the right place, but the washcloth inside was damp despite him being positive that he didn't shower last night. He looked over at Grimmjow's trash bin. He wondered if he could find the band aids that were on him last night in there. On the off chance that he was just crazy he could at least say he didn't dig through his roommate's trash so he refrained himself. He was already acting out of character enough. Even Grimmjow seemed put off.

Grimmjow stood up and held his hands up as if showing a scared animal that he means no harm. "Ichigo calm down. You are being crazy." Grimmjow said very slowly. "Maybe you should go back to bed. Skip class. It might be stress." He was still acting differently.

"Shut the fuck up and take responsibility you fucking blood sucker!" Immediately Grimmjow's hand was covering Ichigo's mouth. The other one holding Ichigo's bare back to prevent him from pulling away. Ichigo blinked at the memory of Grimmjow's insane speed from the night before. What was he trying to gain from confronting Grimmjow again?

"Okay, okay, you've got me. Now quiet down." Grimmjow whispered in a stern voice. "Do you really wanna test these thin walls?"

Ichigo grabbed onto Grimmjow's wrist and attempted pulling it off. Grimmjow's arm stiffened, trying not to push any pressure on Ichigo's face.

"Ichi, calm down," Grimmjow whispered harshly, pulling Ichigo into his chest. He leaned over to Ichigo's ear. "I'll let you go and then I will answer questions, but only the ones I want."

Grimmjow let go and his startled roommate took several steps back so that his back nearly hit the wall.

Ichigo fixed his eyes on the larger built man, holding his ground. "So you really are a vampire?"

"Yup, congratu-fucking-lations for remembering information that would have been better forgotten." Grimmjow groaned.

"So that was a memory spell that you put on me?" Ichigo asked.

Grimmjow stepped towards Ichigo again. Ichigo didn't move, eyes remaining fixed on him. Grimmjow pressed his thumb against Ichigo's forehead and tried saying that weird word again that he said before Ichigo passed out. Ichigo blinked a few times and shifted his weight to his right side and put his hands on his hips.

"Yeah, and I have no idea why it isn't working." He said allowing his hand to fall back to his side.

Ichigo had a million questions, or at least he thought he did. His mind was going blank and he was pretty sure it wasn't from the spell. The biggest question in his head was 'what now?' What could he possibly gain from learning that Grimmjow was a vampire? His life would have probably been exactly the same if he just woke up normally and got ready for class.

"Okay, cool. I have to go to class." Ichigo said grabbing some clothing from the cabinet on his side.

Grimmjow looked at Ichigo dumbfounded. Silence filled the room as Ichigo grabbed clothing for him to change into.

"Wait, that's it?" Grimmjow asked.

"For now," Ichigo stated plainly, bending down to pick up his toothbrush from his caddy.

Grimmjow groaned and stepped in front of the door. "Alright, now it's my turn to talk."

Ichigo glared at him. He just wanted to get the day over with so he could crawl back into bed. It was really not a good thing that he was having thoughts like this minutes after he woke up, especially now that he knew that his roommate was fully capable of killing him. Why wasn't he scared again?

"You have no idea how much of a problem you caused for me. Now everything is ruined." Grimmjow growled scratching behind his ear.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't hear you over my sense of reality being crushed!" Ichigo growled in return, reaching for the door handle. "Maybe you should stop thinking about yourself for a second." Ichigo's headache throbbed as a reminder to calm down. It was unnatural for him to freak out so early in the morning. Yes, this was freaking out to him.

Grimmjow pressed his hand against the door to prevent him from leaving. Ichigo didn't bother trying to fight him this time. Ichigo made eye contact with his roommate's serious eyes that roared with frustration.

"I said it's my turn to talk. Now that you know that I'm a vampire it is my responsibility to make sure you don't do or say anything stupid." Grimmjow stated.

Ichigo groaned. "I promise I won't stay anything stupid." He said. "Now can I please get ready for class?"

Grimmjow snorted and started laughing. It's been a long time since he has seen him laugh. He forgot what it sounded like…he sounded like he was insane. He wasn't even laughing hard and he sounded like a psychopath.

"I'm sorry, a hundred or so years ago it would have been really easy to just murder you, but if I did that the hunters would be on my ass." Grimmjow said while his giggles died down. "Not that I would kill you. I like you too much"

Wow, the realization hit Ichigo. This guy seriously was a psychopath. This guy literally just talked about how killing him wasn't an option while he was laughing. This entire time since he got here he was rooming with this crazy mother fucker.

"So now I just have to keep an eye on you." Grimmjow said. "Welcome to the potential rest of your life of not being able to get rid of me."

"You're joking." Ichigo said with a straight face.

Grimmjow shrugged. "Sorry Ichi."

Ichigo looked him straight in the face still in denial.

"You're joking." He said again, not knowing what else to say.

"Nope."

What was this cliché stalker vampire shit? This wasn't _Twilight!_ He was 100% sure of it. Not this time.

"Don't harp on it too much. Just think of me as some guardian angel or some shit that is more comforting. Try to avoid the word 'stalker vampire' as much as possible… Also forget about the fact that I have the potential to kill and eat you at any time. It'll probably help your mental state stay intact." Grimmjow joked. It was great that Grimmjow was able to stay positive while Ichigo's entire world was crumbling apart... fucking asshole.

This seriously wasn't _Twilight_ , dammit. He didn't even like _Twilight_. The only reason he watched it was because his ex-girlfriend loved it and made him watch it with her, all of them. She even tried to convince him to read them.

"I'm also gonna ask for some blood compensation. It's not like I can have blood whores in here anymore." Grimmjow suggested. "It'll be nice not paying extra to get blood from a warm body."

It was at this point that Ichigo started to officially lose patience with Grimmjow making all of the decisions by himself. He was annoyed with him before and his mind was still not wrapping around this properly, but now he was just getting thoroughly pissed. He wasn't even used to Grimmjow talking so much. They were never really friends. Ichigo tried to be friends with Grimmjow at the start of the term, but the most Grimmjow ever really done for him was help him with his English.

He didn't hire Grimmjow to be his 'guardian angel' or some shit. He just decided that for himself. He wasn't even sure if there was some official rule and honestly he didn't care. He just wanted to be left alone and at least try to scrape his life together before it became anymore chaotic.

"What if I refuse?" Ichigo asked trying to keep his anger in check as well as testing out the waters. There was no way he was going to be helpless in this relationship.

Grimmjow growled and lifted him up, throwing him over his shoulder. He walked towards Ichigo's bed and threw him on it, his body bouncing when it made contact with the garbage air mattress. Grimmjow then climbed on top and Ichigo pushed his hands against his chest to prevent him from getting too close.

Ichigo's mouth hung slightly open still registering the sudden attack as he stared into the icy cyan eyes that were now glaring down at him. His eyes held a certain danger in them that could make a professional wrestler tremble. It was a good thing that Ichigo was not a professional wrestler. He closed his mouth and glared up at Grimmjow. He seriously didn't know where his confidence was coming from nor was he able to tell if he actually was confident or just bluffing.

"You don't have a choice about me watching you. Sorry about that, but I hope you realize that this sucks for me too." Grimmjow said on top of him. "I need something and it's easy to get even if I have to use force."

Grimmjow leaned in closer so that his mouth was next to his neck. "Wanna try me?"

Ichigo shivered involuntarily. He couldn't tell if he did it because he was scared, which he was, but Grimmjow didn't need to know that, or the warmth of Grimmjow's minty breath.

Ichigo growled and turned the other way, not saying anything.

"I'll take that as a yes." Grimmjow shrugged, running his hand through Ichigo's hair. Ichigo pushed his hand away and started to sit up that signed for Grimmjow to get off.

Grimmjow sat up on the bed, dangling his feet over the side. Ichigo hugged his knees and rested his back against his pillows.

"We can talk more rules later. I'll let you process the entire vampires are real shit first. You're smart, but I know this is a lot to take in."

He slid off Ichigo's bed, making his sheets slide off the mattress slightly. Ichigo turned around and lay on his side, facing the wall. The door opened and closed with the sound of Grimmjow leaving the room. He seriously thought for sure that he would never see his roommate again after a month, but if what he was saying was true then he may have been stuck with him. What a nightmare. He had no idea what that meant for him.

If all of this was for real then he had to think about the future. Grimmjow was from Germany, or that was at least what he said, and Ichigo was from Japan. If Grimmjow was really serious then either Grimmjow is following Ichigo to Japan or he's getting dragged home with Grimmjow. Ichigo couldn't even wrap his mind around moving to another country out of the blue, away from his friends and family. His mind and stomach rejected the thoughts, feeling sicker.

Ichigo sighed. He didn't think he had the guts to try stabbing Grimmjow with a wooden stake. He wasn't even sure if that legend was true. He also wasn't sure if he will be charged with murder if it was on a vampire.

Maybe it would be best if he took the first plane back to Japan, or anywhere else. He could apologize to Renji, resume his studies to become a doctor and pretend none of this earth shattering shit happened.

He groaned. Grimmjow was right. All this shit was too hard to take in at once. All he wanted was to be alone. Time to run. He undressed quickly, and pulled on fresh clothes faster than he ever has in his entire life. He dry swallowed some medicine to take care of his crippling headache. He still felt gross, but he needed to get out before Grimmjow got back. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and pulled open the door.

Grimmjow stood in the doorway reaching forward as if he was about to open the door. He sighed and grabbed onto the handle of his backpack, dragging Ichigo back into the room.

"Can't a guy take a piss without you trying to run out on me?" Grimmjow groaned. "I didn't even form our contract yet."

"I don't know what you are talking about, but I'm not signing anything or whatever." Ichigo growled. "I'm not agreeing to any of this."

Before Ichigo was able to register what was happening he was pushed against the wall again, his back exposed to Grimmjow. "Sorry you don't really have a choice in the matter." Ichigo felt him stripping him of his backpack. "Raise your arms." Grimmjow muttered and Ichigo complied, not really knowing why or why his shirt was taken off. Whatever was going to happen at least it will be over with faster.

Grimmjow leaned towards his neck. "I haven't done this in a really long time so cross your fingers."

Grimmjow clung onto Ichigo between his neck and right shoulder blade with his mouth. He sucked hard against his skin before he pulled away.

Ichigo felt the cold air make contact with the now red wet mark that now blemished his lower neck. Grimmjow stood behind him, examining his handy work.

Grimmjow sighed. "Great, it worked."

"What the actual fuck." Ichigo muttered.

"Quick explanation, with that mark I am able to have a general idea of where you are and your emotional state. That is unless this spell fails on me too. I'll be able to tell whether you are in trouble." Grimmjow said pulling away finally.

"Okay, fine. You're a stalker, but was there a better way of doing that besides leaving a hickey?" Ichigo grunted, suddenly feeling dizzy. His face flushed as he started crumpling against the wall.

"Ugh, hickey is such a slutty term for it. You make it sound like I molested you. Just call it a contract." Grimmjow suggested.

"It basically was molestation. I'm seriously not consenting to any of this." Ichigo growled.

"It'll grow on you…maybe." Grimmjow said slapping Ichigo's other bare shoulder blade. Ichigo flinched at the contact, expecting it to hurt more than it did.

"Okay, fine. One more question?" Ichigo asked turning around to prevent Grimmjow from trying to touch anything else without permission.

"Shoot."

"Was there a reason for throwing me against a wall and taking my shirt off entirely besides the contact?"

Silence.

Grimmjow shrugged. "Fan service?" Grimmjow stepped away. "Don't forget to brush your teeth. Your breath reeks."

Yup. This was Ichigo's life now, but he wasn't sure if he was going to get used to it.

xxx

At the beginning when Ichigo was still trying to be friends with the person he was living with he hung out with him quite a bit. He has been able to tell whether he would be great friends with someone or not. He didn't exactly get the best vibes from Grimmjow, but he knew that he could live with him and that was really it. He could also tell that he was hiding something, but he never really cared enough to find out because he also got the air that he was dangerous. Joke's on him now.

It was weird to think about how during that time he was hanging out with a vampire without knowing it. Now he was walking right next to him as if it was a normal day. Walking with Grimmjow was different than him walking to class alone. Grimmjow is an eye catcher. He's tall and muscular, he is handsome and his jawline can cut glass and his intimidating demeanor makes him come off as mysterious. His admittedly sexy blue hair was messy, but seemed to fall into all of the right places that could make any girl swoon and his tattoos under his eyes give him a dangerous and risky bad boy vibe. He is basically every girl's dream, but he didn't even give the ones staring at him a sideways glance. It was hard for Ichigo to ignore their blushing and giggling. It made him weirdly self-conscious which was weird considering he usually didn't care too much for what others thought of him…or at least he wanted the appearance of that.

Walking next to him made him forget some of those rare glances were for him. Back when he was in high school it wasn't uncommon for him to find love letters inside of his shoe locker. He knew what it was like to have girls glancing at him. He is almost six feet and muscular himself, but definitely not the same kind of muscular as Grimmjow. He had a swimmers body that most likely came from his experience in martial arts and occasionally street fights. Then there were the muscles he built up from being recruited temporarily in sports teams for payment.

He experienced different stares at college though, ones he has never experienced before. He still had the usual female fans that would glance at him while he walked by, but there were also a lot more of different kind of gazes. A lot of them being male. He shrugged it off most of the time assuming it was out of admiration or maybe a few gazes from attraction, but they still felt different.

He was watching a group walk past him who was giving him that look. That was before Grimmjow pushed his back and looked sternly at them and then back at Ichigo, egging him to walk faster. Something was up. Maybe he knew what was up with that. It's been plaguing him ever since he got to this place.

As soon as Grimmjow nudged him one of the guys that they were passing quickly grabbed Ichigo's wrist causing Ichigo to gasp in surprise, pulling his arm back from the sudden tug. He glared up at the face of a bald guy who was even taller man then Grimmjow. He's never seen him around campus before and he was definitely the tallest guy he has ever seen. Fuck, this guy was intimidating. Was there a face tattoo club on campus that he didn't know about? Seriously, Renji, Shuuhei, Grimmjow, and now this guy? If there wasn't a club then they need to make one.

He was more annoyed that he has been tugged around way too much for one day and it only just started. He managed to yank his arm out of the strangers grasp and was about ready to tell him off, but Grimmjow acted before he could. He grabbed the guy harshly by the chin, pulling him down so that he could look him in the eyes.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Grimmjow snarled. People started to look over and whisper. Ichigo grabbed Grimmjow by the wrist and attempted to pull him away, but Grimmjow didn't budge.

"Grimmjow, let's go." Ichigo insisted, not ready to help his roommate hide a body yet. He held onto his wrist and tugged lightly. Grimmjow looked over at Ichigo's glare directed at him instead of the guy who grabbed a hold of him.

Grimmjow shot one more glare at the offender before following Ichigo's lead. "What the fuck are you doing?" Ichigo asked in frustration once they walked far enough away from the people who were now watching their backs as they left the scene. Grimmjow seriously looked like he was trying to crush his jaw.

"Making sure that guy knows his place. Did that guy seriously think he had the right to be grabbing onto you?" Grimmjow huffed. Ichigo pulled him a bit faster, but Grimmjow pulled back so that they walked at a normal pace. He pulled his arm from Ichigo's grasp and scratched the back of his head.

"Whatever, that happens all the time." Ichigo huffed. Grimmjow looked at him, astonished.

"Wait, that happens all the times?" He looked coldly at Ichigo. Ichigo could almost feel the rage building up inside of him. This guy was one of the only people he knew who had a worse temper then him. Ichigo shrugged, knowing that the anger was not directed at him. "It usually happens during the nighttime. It's been a while since it happened during the day."

Grimmjow blinked a few times from the new information. "Do you get catcalled too?" Grimmjow asked scoffing as if he was trying to play it off as a joke, but it wasn't working too well in his favor especially since Ichigo responded seriously.

"All the time, once again mostly at night," Ichigo admitted, shrugging slightly.

"What the fuck?" Grimmjow huffed, "and you don't do anything about it?" Ichigo shrugged, aware of Grimmjow's building rage that he was helping to create.

"I used to when I was in high school, guys and girls. It didn't happen as much back then because they were mostly guys dumb enough to want to pick fights with me. My dad told me that I might get in trouble one day even though he was the one that taught me how to fight. I don't exactly want to start anything in a foreign country." Ichigo explained. "So do me a huge favor and don't start anything when you are with me."

Grimmjow growled. "Don't count on it. I don't want people all over you when you are just doing something as simple as walking to class."

"You get used to it." Ichigo groaned, already tired of talking about something so humiliating.

"That isn't something you should just get used to. You should teach them a lesson."

Ichigo shrugged. "Too many people to teach, wouldn't even know where to start."

There was no way to convince him to let it go. If he decided to pick a fight with everyone that grabbed or catcalled at Ichigo then he would go to prison. Then again he was a vampire so he wasn't sure how prisons worked with them.

Somehow they were able to make it to Ichigo's class without Grimmjow starting a blood bath, but it took some effort on Ichigo's part. He was already tired of being with his roommate and it was only the first hour of the first day. If this is going to be his everyday then he is screwed. Unless Grimmjow followed him into class then it was going to be a break for him. He sighed and started to walk in before Grimmjow's hand locked onto his shoulder, pulling him back.

Ichigo sighed already expecting it. It felt like half the thoughts in his head is 'what now?'

"Are you _fucking_ serious?" Grimmjow asked through his teeth in a hiss, not exactly asking Ichigo, but the universe.

Ichigo groaned. What else in his life set Grimmjow off? Did he dare ask this time? "What is it?" Apparently the answer was yes.

Grimmjow clicked his tongue and peaked inside of his classroom again. His eyes relaxed slightly and he sighed. "Okay. This is fine. Just if something goes wrong hold on for a little bit and I'll be here before you know it."

Ichigo wondered if this was how parents acted when they dropped their kids off at school for the first time. Probably not, but in a weird way it felt like it.

Grimmjow nodded once more and tapped Ichigo on his back before leaving him in front of his class. Ichigo never understood why Grimmjow insisted on being mysterious even after Ichigo learned his presumably biggest secret. He wasn't sure what Grimmjow was protecting him from. Nothing bothered him too much at school, well except that time he almost died. When was that again? Yesterday? Joy.

He could promise to keep his secret a million times, but that probably wouldn't be enough. Ichigo sighed. One more month. One more month in school and he'll figure out the rest later. Maybe he could find a way to get rid of him before then, but for now focus on school. He could keep reminding himself that over and over again, but he knew it wouldn't be enough.

* * *

 **A/N: Rewriting Strawberry Fangs may be a side project at the moment, but I still like recognition in the form of reviews, follows, and favorites. Think of it as a dog performing tricks. They can do it without the reward, but its still nice to reward them.**


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